


The Friend I Need

by Rizzoli66



Category: Rizzoli & Isles, Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-06-06 17:40:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6763762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rizzoli66/pseuds/Rizzoli66
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane makes good on her promise to Angela and the fantastic foursome do some team-building in Greece.<br/>Interlude set during my other fic Warrior... Cop... just to explain how Xena and Gabrielle became immortal and ‘out’ Jane and Maura’s relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The Xena finale was a 'love it or hate it' story and a lot of fans wrote fics to 'right the wrongs' so this is mine. It'll take us a couple of chapters to get there and this first one is scene setting. So let me take you to not so ancient Greece...

It was two days after their first night together that Angela learned of their relationship. Jane wasn’t normally this open about her love life but this particular lover was forever as far as she was concerned and, even if it brought the wrath of her Ma down on her, she wasn’t prepared to hide her feelings. 

By previous consent, Maura disappeared upstairs to change as soon as she and Jane returned to her house after their stay at Jane’s apartment. Jane knew it would be easier – and less upsetting for Maura – if she spoke to Angela alone. She pulled Angela away from her Sunday dinner preparations, sat her down, pressed a glass of wine in her hand and took a deep breath to calm her churning stomach, but Angela jumped in before she could utter a word.

“What’s this about, Jane? That text you sent was no way to speak to your mother, I spent 15 hours in labour...”

“Ma, just listen for a minute, will ya?” Jane cut in, not in the mood for the umpteenth retelling of the story of how she started inflicting pain on her mother even before she entered the world. 

Amazingly, Angela fell silent and Jane wondered if Xena and Gabrielle’s friend, Aphrodite was lending a hand, because it usually took an act of God to shut the woman up. “Ma, I’ve got some good news... great news in fact, you don’t have to set me up with guys any more. I’m in love.” Jane rolled that thought around for a few seconds, enjoying the feel of it.

“Well don’t keep me in suspense, Jane. Who is he?”

Now for the tricky bit, Jane thought. “It’s not a he, Ma,” she held up her hand to forestall the inevitable tsunami of questions. “It’s Maura, I’m in love with Maura. And to save you the time, yes, I’m sure. Yes, she feels the same. No, it’s not a phase or experiment, it’s forever. Yes, I’m happy. For the first time, I’m in a relationship that I’m totally happy about.” Jane sat back on the sofa and waited, the only sounds in the room was their breathing until Maura came down the stairs. Jane stood and gave her a hug, then went to the kitchen to get her a glass of wine and a bottle of beer for herself. It was as she returned that Angela finally spoke.

“But what about grandbabies?”

Jane gently put the drinks down on the side table, resisting the urge to slam them down only because it wasn’t fair to take out her annoyance on Maura’s furniture. She advanced on her mother, throwing her arms up angrily. “Really Ma? I’ve just told you that I – your only daughter, who has had a lousy love life up to now - am finally with a partner I truly love and can picture getting old and grey with, and what do you say? Not congratulations or ‘bout time, but the first thing out of your mouth is your fuc... obsession with grandchildren?” Jane only censured herself to spare Maura’s delicate sensibilities. 

It seemed that Aphrodite was outdoing herself today as Angela made no comment and went back to her dinner preparations. Jane sought solace in Maura’s tender embrace, she nuzzled Maura’s elegant neck and inhaled her scent, feeling herself calm. Jane was annoyed at herself for feeling upset, she’d told herself that she didn’t need or even want her mother’s approval but now the moment was here, Angela’s attitude stung. 

Maura tightened her arms and gently massaged Jane’s scalp, murmuring words of comfort in her ear. They were oblivious to a pair of anxious eyes observing them from the kitchen. It was only because the announcement had taken her completely by surprise that Angela had reacted that way, she wasn’t homophobic at all but the news had fractured her long-held fantasy of spending her twilight years surrounded by grandchildren into a million shards.

Maura kissed Jane on the lips and disentangled herself, walking to join Angela in the kitchen and help with dinner. She stood in front of the older woman and looked straight into her eyes. “Angela I think that the likelihood of Jane having children is inversely proportional to the number of times the subject is raised.”

Angela was still feeling unbalanced and didn’t follow. “Huh?”

“She said stop nagging me, Ma.” Jane stood behind Maura, one hand resting on her shoulder and shot her best suspect-wilting glare at her mother.

Angela looked at the two, totally united women and resigned herself to second place in her daughter’s heart.

The rest of the extended family took the news far better than Angela. There was a full house that Sunday, with Serena and Abby joining the usual suspects and the evening had been a great success. Angela had even eventually succumbed to Maura and Abby’s double-team charm offensive and proposed a toast congratulating her ‘two daughters’. Jane, who was seated between Serena and Korsak, turned to her partner and commented that if their two blondes ever decided to go into law enforcement, she and Serena could retire. Serena nodded and murmured that Abby had talked a Cyclops out of his dinner – and Abby had been the main course. Jane’s eyes widened in surprise and made a mental note to bring the subject up again once they were alone. 

A few hours later all bar two of the guests had left and the dishwasher was humming contentedly in the background.

Jane took a swig of her beer and relaxed deeper into the sofa, she looked round at the three other occupants of the room. “Well that went better than I expected, mainly thanks to you two.” She raised the bottle in a heartfelt toast.

Maura blushed with the praise and Abby grinned. “Mothers are easy, it’s deities I have a real problem with.” She gazed pointedly at Serena, who looked sheepish and said.

“Annnyway, changing the subject, would you two like to come with us to Greece?” Serena saw Jane’s obvious reluctance. “I start at BPD on the first and it would be a great chance for the four of us to get some sun and relax.” 

Jane’s first instinct was to decline, travel wasn’t on her list of favourite things to do and she felt her time was better spent solving murders, but the thought of seeing Maura in that skimpy two-piece bathing suit Jane had spotted in Maura’s walk-in closet had her wavering.

Serena spotted the thoughtful look and pressed her argument. “We have a house in the countryside near Amphipolis, it was my grandparents’ many, many moons ago, so it’s only the airfare you need to cover. It’s been far too long since we’ve been back and it’ll be a great opportunity for us,” she flip-flopped her hand between herself and Jane, “to get to know one another. Think of it as a team building exercise with ouzo.”

Jane was still weighing the offer in her mind but then caught the look on Maura’s face, she was practically glowing with excitement and Jane immediately caved. Mentally calling herself pussy-whipped, Jane ignored her own misgivings. “Okay, thanks. We’d love to come with you.”

Maura shot her an adoring look, she leaned closer and planted a kiss on Jane’s cheek.

Serena’s suggestion of a trip to Greece came as a surprise to Abby, it had been several decades since they’d been back and she was keen to see the old place again. She took Serena’s hand and kissed the knuckles. “We’re going home, love.” She said, her voice thick with emotion.

Serena stroked her face, “Yeah, I’ll call Naria,” She glanced at Jane and Maura. “She’s our housekeeper,” she turned back to Abby, “I can’t wait to... ” Her voice dropped to a seductive murmur and whatever she said was too quiet for anyone but Abby to hear, but judging by the glow it brought to the bard’s cheeks it was very naughty.

The cheesy love-struck looks and suggestive remarks made Jane squirm so she tuned out and concentrated on Maura. “So, I guess you wanna take me shopping now?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Jane told Korsak and Frankie that she would be taking three weeks vacation time starting next week, the entire bullpen turned to stare at her and Korsak collapsed dramatically in his chair. Frankie began to furiously fan him with a cardboard file folder and called for some water, Korsak’s groans of discomfort were Oscar worthy, until they were cut off by a well-aimed scrunched up sheet of paper courtesy of one detective Rizzoli. 

A sea of jaw-dropped faces surrounded Jane and she scowled at them. “Oh ha, ha. I have taken vacations before.”

“Yeah, not in this decade.” Frankie said, putting down the file and there was a general nodding of heads.

Jane opened her mouth for a sarcastic quip but realised he was right, despite Maura’s frequent offers she hadn’t more than a few days away from work that wasn’t injury related since... well before Hoyt had her pinned to that basement floor. She rubbed at her scars absently. 

“All the more reason to go then.” She said smugly, getting the last word in as usual.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I still can’t believe we’re going away together.” Maura said happily, neatly folding underwear and tucking them into a corner of her suitcase. She consulted her packing list and crossed off the appropriate item.

“And I can’t believe how much stuff you’re taking.” Jane replied, eyeing the two large (matching, of course) cases already packed and lined up against the wall. She was only taking one medium sized case – borrowed, because Maura had nearly fainted at the decrepit state of the thing Jane had tried to fill – and virtually her entire off-duty wardrobe fitted with room to spare. 

“I like to be prepared, we may go to an up-scale restaurant or entertain some of Serena and Abby’s friends or go hiking or horse riding or...”

“Oh well, that explains it, you’ve got a saddle in there!” Jane quipped, halting her girlfriend who, if unchecked, would probably go on to list every possible way of spending time, “I get it, you’re a regular boy scout. I’m just saying that other people might like to take stuff too and if you’ve already filled the cargo hold of the plane...” 

Maura looked distressed at this and began to scour the list for things she could do without. Jane immediately felt guilty, she’d only been half joking and she gently tugged the list away from Maura, set it down on the counter and pulled the smaller woman into her arms. Jane dropped a placating kiss on Maura’s silky lips and drew back. “I’m sorry, Maur. You know me, I hate leaving Boston and I just know I’ll get the seat in front of the screaming baby.” 

Reassured, Maura relaxed in Jane’s arms and moved in for another kiss, just as their lips touched she murmured. “Not this time, Jane. We’re flying first class.” At Jane’s inhale that heralded her protest, Maura said. “No argument, it’s all booked and most of it was covered by my frequent flyer miles.” 

The look in Maura’s eyes told her that complaining wasn’t an option so she gave in. “Okay but the next trip’s on me.”

Maura nodded and brushed their lips together, then coaxed Jane’s mouth apart with her own. As the twin sighs of pleasure escaped, Jane began to edge Maura back into their bedroom. There was a much better way of spending the next hour and, although it did involve clothes, they wouldn’t be folded, neatly or otherwise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a person who’s barely been outside of the UK, I have no idea about Greek airports, so if you can’t fly directly to Thessaloniki from the US, I apologise.
> 
> For the uninitiated BGSB stands for bilious green sports bra, it’s part of Gabrielle’s costume that is frankly hideous and I’m sure that the reason it’s fondly regarded by fans is its incredible shrinking ability.
> 
> This chapter references the Xena ep Been There, Done That but only in passing - I had to put in my own explanation for the hickey.

Despite her reservations Jane found the flight pleasurable and soon relaxed under the influence of a couple of glasses of complimentary Champagne. They arrived at a sun-drenched Thessaloniki International Airport at 10am local time which was 3am in Boston. The time difference had little affect on the two seasoned cops as they were used to keeping odd hours, Maura had already acclimatised herself to Greek time by rising at 3 in the morning ever since the holiday had been agreed and Gabrielle had elevated snoozing to an Olympic standard, so was as fresh as a daisy as they descended the steps of the plane. Xena collected her car from the airport car park and they pulled into the long, sweeping gravel driveway of her ancestral home about an hour later. 

“Wow.” The word slipped from Maura’s lips as they saw the ‘farmhouse’ for the first time.

“I see that ‘wow’ and raise it with a ‘holy cow’.” Added Jane, practically tripping over her jaw as she got out of the car.

Xena grinned, knowing she had deliberately led the others to believe her Greek home was basically a shack in the wilderness. “Yeah, it’s a modest little 5 bedroom, 3 bath mansion but we,” she hung her arm over Gabrielle’s shoulders, “call it home.”

Xena unlocked the large wooden door, then she and Gabrielle gave the others a quick tour. After they retrieved their luggage, Xena and Gabrielle disappeared to change into fresh clothes and Maura insisted that she and Jane do the same – after they had unpacked.

Half an hour later, Jane and Maura wandered on to the patio at the back of the house where the foursome had agreed to rendezvous. The golden stone patio ran the whole width of the house and was raised above an immaculate lawn with four steps leading down. The large expanse of grass ended with a line of tall trees. To one side of the patio there was a large, cast iron table with four chairs and a tray sat on its grey marble top with coffee and assorted pastries. They wandered over and Maura poured them both some coffee while Jane took a bite out of one of the pastries.

“Oh my god,” she said around a mouthful of food, her eyes closed in ecstasy. “Maura you have to try this.” Jane held out the remaining confection and Maura took a small bite.

“Oh that is good,” she said after she chewed and swallowed. Maura sat down and picked up her cup, she was just taking a sip of coffee when Xena and Gabrielle came out of the patio doors. 

When they’d said they wanted to change, Jane assumed they meant out of their travelling clothes and into something more suited to the 90 degree heat but one startled glance at her hosts made her realise they’d gone one stage further – or rather back. 

Xena was wearing her brown leather battle dress and Gabrielle was close behind in a cloth bra-like top that was, frankly, a horrible shade of green. Jane had convinced herself that she’d misremembered the godsaweful colour from her trip back to ancient Greece, but when she saw it in all its glory again, she realised her cop brain was as accurate as ever and let out a quietly gasped “Shit!” 

Maura’s eyes followed Jane’s and she too was slightly nauseated by the garment, but was more polite and merely muttered, “oh my,” but her coffee cup rattled loudly against its saucer.

Gabrielle wasn’t oblivious, she could see the badly disguised looks of disgust. “It might not be the height of fashion but it does have one massively redeeming feature.” All eyes turned to her, Xena smirked, Maura looked questioningly and Jane grinned as the light dawned. Gabrielle tugged at the laces that held her top together and the penny dropped for Maura, her eyes widened and she vaguely wondered if Jane was wearing her bra with the front clasp.

“They can’t possibly be the same clothes I saw you wearing.” Jane said, concentrating Xena and trying desperately to avoid glimpsing the BGSB. 

“Nah, they fell apart centuries ago. I made these about... 50 years ago.”

Gabrielle poked Xena in the midriff. “Had to use more leather this time though,” she said cheekily.

Xena’s smile became fixed. “Excuse me ladies,” she addressed to Jane and Maura, “but my bard needs to be taught a lesson.“ Keeping her eyes on Jane, Xena suddenly leapt sideways but just missed Gabrielle who smartly stepped away and sprinted down to the lawn with Xena hot on her heels, yelling, “Yeah, you’d better run.”

Maura stood and moved closer to Jane, sliding her arm around a slender waist as they watched on in amusement. The warrior and her bard zigzagged their way across the sun bathed grass, laughing and teasing each other. Xena caught Gabrielle just before the tree line, slung the giggling blonde over her shoulder and strode into the woods whistling merrily.

“Wonder where she’s taking her.” Jane asked more or less rhetorically.

Maura, who had extensively researched the area, replied. “Just beyond the trees is a... “ there was a faint splash, “river.” 

“They’re just like little kids.” Jane said, still gazing at the trees.

“They are rather rambunctious, aren’t they?”

“Ram...” that was a new one on Jane, but these days she found Maura’s Google-speak arousing and she cuddled her girlfriend a little tighter. 

Maura breathed in the herb scented, warm air contentedly, contentment had been an elusive thing in her past but now it was a constant companion thanks to the woman at her side. Xena and Gabrielle had given them a large sunny bedroom a long way down the hall from their own and Maura had the sudden desire to test the supportiveness of the king-sized mattress on their bed. She turned to face Jane and slid her arms around the olive-skinned neck, capturing chocolate eyes. “Shall we go and make love?” She asked hopefully.

“But they might be back at any moment.” While the idea of some afternoon delight was greatly appealing, the thought of getting caught was overriding her libido.

“That is highly unlikely Jane, Xena has had that look in her eye since we left the airport, they’ll be an hour at least.”

“Which look?”

“This one.” Maura let all the desire she had for Jane show in her eyes.

Jane felt her knees grow weak but she rallied heroically, “I’m not sure, I don’t wanna get caught with my pants down.”

Maura sighed frustratedly, so much for the direct approach, she’d have to try a little under-hand persuasion. “I could just go and masturbate.”

“Wh... what?” Stuttered Jane, enticing images of Maura naked and writhing with her hand buried between her legs assaulted Jane’s mind.

“Well, if you don’t want me... “

“Maur, you know I do, but... “

“Come on Jane, you know how good I can make you feel.” Maura could see Jane starting to waver. “I’ll even...“ She whispered into Jane’s ear.

Jane swallowed audibly, it was a _very_ persuasive argument. “You make a fair point, Dr Isles.”

“I’ve got two actually,” Maura thrust forward her obviously aroused nipples, causing her blouse to tent, “now if you would just play with them...”

Jane could take no more. “C’mon let’s go make some rambunction of our own.”

Maura was so please to have gotten her own way that she failed to comment Jane’s misuse of the word. By unspoken agreement they grabbed each other’s hand and rushed into the farmhouse eager to be horizontal and naked, such was their impatience that they only just managed to avoiding getting wedged in the doorway. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gabrielle and Maura made dinner that evening, the brunettes offered their help but Gabrielle pointed out that Xena could and indeed actually had burnt water, so Xena offered to show Jane the firing range she’d had built in the basement while muttering about mistaking Greek fire for olive oil.

Several hours later, the food was eaten, the kitchen cleaned and the foursome were sprawled over a long, L-shaped couch. The two pairs were in mirroring positions with Gabrielle sitting between Xena's outstretched legs at one end, Jane had overcome her usual shyness at displaying affection and was cuddling Maura at the other end of the couch.

Jane was in a reflective mood, she was learning a lot about herself recently, firstly that she was gay - it was surprising to her how comfortable she was with that revelation - and now she realised that she wasn't embarrassed with the way her two friends were acting, usually PDAs made her squirm but not so much any more apparently. They were far more ‘touchy-feely’ than in Boston and while it didn't bother her as as such, she _was_ starting to feel like she and Maura were intruding. She cleared her throat to get their attention. “We’re both really grateful for the vacation but are you sure you want us here cramping your style?”

Xena looked up from nuzzling Gabrielle's neck and Gabrielle answered for them. "Of course, we wouldn't have offered otherwise."

"Anyway," Xena carried on, "we'll probably take off for a week or so in a couple of days." Xena cuddled Gabrielle closer.

"The lake where we first... got together is about a day's hike through the woods and we like to camp out there when we come home." The bard added and smiled in remembrance.

Jane had already heard that particular tale but realised that Xena had promised to explain another to her. "So Xena, how did Gabrielle give you a hickey before you officially got together?"

Gabrielle sat up to look at her partner. "I did? When was that?"

"Yeah, Gabrielle you did. You won’t remember it because it was during that time we were reliving that one day over and over. You got drunk after Joxer’s funeral pyre and sort of leapt on me," Xena smirked, "although I didn’t try too hard to push you away."

Gabrielle looked sad and sniffed delicately, "So I don't remember the first time we made love?"

Xena cuddled the smaller woman to her, "It didn't get that far, love. I wouldn't have taken advantage of you like that, we just kissed for a while." 

Maura watched the two of them snuggle back against the arm of the couch, she was still in two minds about them. The logical, scientific part of her refused to believe that they had lived for a couple of millennia but her romantic side was enchanted by the notion of lovers spending eternity together. She pulled Jane's hand from where it rested on her thigh and interlaced their fingers. "So how did you both become immortal?" She asked.

Gabrielle cleared her throat and took a sip of wine, slipping into bard mode she said, "I sing the tale of the warrior princess, who fearlessly battled warlords and Gods only to lose her head in the land of Chin..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more chapter to go and it should be up in a couple of weeks.
> 
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> Kim.xxx


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have slightly modified the ending to FIN part 2, Gabrielle doesn't go to Egypt but back home to Greece. This last chapter is a bit angsty at the start but the storyteller's cardinal rule is in effect. As ever a knowledge of Xena eps will help but aren't totally necessary. So let's join Xena and Gabrielle for one more time...

Gabrielle had no words to describe the depth of her desolation. Her soulmate was dead and, at her own insistence, remained that way. The pain in her heart was staggering, the grief at her soulmate's demise coupled with the sense of betrayal she felt were gnawing at that vital muscle with their viciously pointed teeth. There was a leaden weight crushing her chest, making every breath a fight. Every beat of her slowly eroding heart was echoed by a furious pounding in her head. She couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't even breathe properly and Xena's constant, ghostly presence was no comfort, in fact it only heightened her grief, so her conscious mind did the only thing it could to preserve her sanity - it shut down. She spent the entire the journey to the docks in a stupor, robotically placing one stumbling foot after the other, rousing only to ensure that she found a ship's captain bound for Greece. Gabrielle blocked out Xena's plea that a girl with a chakram was needed in Egypt, she HAD to go home. Once aboard the ship Gabrielle would have surely starved if it weren't for the captain's son, a sweet ten-year-old who brought food to Gabrielle's cabin at least once a day. She went through the daily routine of seeing to her bodily needs mechanically, spending the most part of every day staring into space or sleeping. 

Xena spent the journey home watching over her bard and urging Gabrielle to come back to her but it was in vain, the blonde's eyes remained vacant. It was the silence that was the worst, Xena had become used to Gabrielle's almost endless chatter over the past six years and the absence of it was louder and infinitely more irritating than her voice had ever been. 

As the time wore on Xena became ever more despondent, convincing herself that Gabrielle's condition was permanent and she would have to live out her days in one of Hestia's asylums, but the words 'land ho' yelled by the look-out from the crow's nest seemingly had magical properties because as soon as they reached Gabrielle's ears she began to rouse and Xena heaved a mighty, albeit ghostly, sigh of relief. Tenderly, Xena's fingers traced her soulmate's cheekbones and she choked back her sobs at the lack of sensation. "Gabrielle... love, can you hear me?"

For a split second Gabrielle's green eyes shone with recognition and love then she remembered the awful reality of Xena's death and her gaze hardened. She stood up from her bunk, intentionally passing through Xena's spirit body and began to stretch out her neglected muscles, totally ignoring her increasingly loud partner as she tried to get Gabrielle to acknowledge her. 

Gabrielle collected her belongings, carefully tucking the urn with Xena's ashes under her arm, she bade farewell to the captain and her young friend then disembarked. She was aware of Xena's ghostly presence following, although the warrior had fallen silent by now and was waiting for Gabrielle to explain their return home. 

They had arrived at sunrise and the docks were deserted, the ship's crew secured their vessel fore and aft on two of the many, evenly-spaced wooden posts that lined the dock and they wandered into the town to find a tavern that was willing to provide breakfast.

Gabrielle walked down the dock away from the buildings and let the bag slide from her shoulder to the ground, she carefully placed the urn at her feet, resisting the temptation to kick it into the Aegean. Xena watched from a few yards away, waiting to see what Gabrielle did next.

The bard turned to face her warrior but made no move to get closer. "Are you going to haunt me from a distance?"

Xena walked closer, her insubstantial footsteps making no sound on the dusty, pebble strewn dockside. "Didn't know if I was welcome," she muttered.

"The jury's still out on that but we do need to talk." Gabrielle's speech was clipped as she struggled to keep her anger under control. "I'm gonna get you back. " 

"No!" Xena took a step forward and tried to grasp Gabrielle's shoulders but neither of them could really feel the contact. "You can't bring me back, Gabrielle. What about the 40,000 souls I'm responsible for?"

Gabrielle's eyes flashed and her face reddened from rage. "It's them or me, Xena. Either I get you back or I join you."

"Join... you mean... ?" The prospect was so horrifying that Xena couldn't bring herself to voice the words.

Gabrielle glared defiantly, "Yep, one way or another, Xena, we WILL be together." She turned her face skywards and took a deep breath to yell for her favourite goddess but Xena broke in.

"No! I won’t have you die just to be with me."

"What? Without you I'm as good as dead anyway." Gabrielle knew what she needed and Xena's opinion wasn't going to change her mind. She marshalled her argument and took a deep breath. "Remember how you felt when I sacrificed myself to kill Hope? You tried to find me in the Amazon land of the dead. You killed a horse, Xena. A HORSE! Something you revere more than us mere humans, just to try and get to me. And then there was the time I accidentally killed Kora during that sandstorm, you wouldn't let me admit to it because my punishment would be death, or when we had to hold back the Persian army and I was shot with a poisoned arrow. You wanted to let Greece fall just so that I could get the antidote and live. 

"Yes, Gabrielle we've had some dangerous adven... "

"Shut up!" Gabrielle was in full flow and nothing could stop her. "You're deliberately missing the point, you would do anything to keep me with you, _anything_. Well that’s how I feel now. I need us to be together, Xena I won't... I can’t do this alone." She placed hand on Xena’s upper arm, the only sensation was a slight coolness. "I can't even touch you properly for Zeus' sake." She spun away and walked off.

"But Gabrielle... " Xena said pleadingly, starting after her.

"Oh go tell it to your _girlfriend_ , Akemi."

"Is that what...? You’re jealous!" Xena scoffed.

"Jealous? Oh for fu... Were you not listening?" She tried to poke Xena on the chest for emphasis but her hand sank in up to the wrist, she ignored the chill as a new thought struck her. “You used my love against me!”

“What? No I ...”

“You knew that I loved you so much that I’d do anything you asked, so you used my feelings to get what you wanted, to get your damned redemption and to Tartarus with the consequences.”

Xena tried to speak but was again cut off.

“No! You do NOT get to speak yet. Don't you see, Xena? The way you felt nothing you did would ever be enough to redeem you, no matter how many warlords you defeated, how many villages you saved. You must have thought the chance to save that many souls in one go was Olympus sent, that your death was a small price to pay. But what about me?" Gabrielle's voice cracked on the last word but she swallowed down the threatening tears and called on her anger. "You call me your soulmate but when it came down to it you didn't give me a second thought, you abandoned me. I was happy with our life - no matter how dangerous it became - because we were together, but you took away the only thing I CANNOT... I WILL NOT live without. You, Xena, I NEED you." Panting heavily after her heartfelt speech, Gabrielle stepped away and tipped her face skywards. "APHRODITE!"

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you back again, so I can punch your lights out. APHRODITE! C’mon Dite, I need you."

Xena stood open-mouthed at Gabrielle's tirade, her mind reeling. Guilt flooded through her and her eyes filled with shameful tears. Gabrielle was right, Xena had treated her as a tag along, putting her second to The Greater Good and that was just plain wrong. Someone as amazing as Gabrielle deserved to be her first consideration not an after thought. She walked away, feeling unworthy of the comfort Gabrielle's nearness always brought to her.

Gabrielle bellowed for Aphrodite again but the God of War appeared in all his leather-clad glory. Xena watched disinterestedly, feeling completely miserable, she rallied as Ares put on his most seductive smile and swaggered closer. 

“Xena, good to see you.”

Xena pushed her pain down and raised a mocking eyebrow. “Dite, you sure have let yourself go.”

“Ha, ha. Speaking of letting go, I heard a rumour that you were dead but I didn’t believe it," he passed his hand through Xena’s chest, "until now." He went to do it again but Xena backed up.

"Get lost, Ares." 

"Now that’s no way to talk to a god, especially when you need his help."

"As always Ares, I need nothing from you."

"Yeah? You sure about that Xena? Cos your little playmate over there can’t touch you any more but," he shimmered and faded until he was as transparent as Xena, "I can."

He cupped her cheek and leaned in for a kiss but met Xena’s fist instead. 

"As I said Ares, nothing."

He stepped back out of range, still grinning smugly but rubbing his stinging face. "Oh and your ‘friend’," he air quoted around the word, "lied."

Xena shot him a bored look but her mind was hanging on his every word. 

"Yeah, funny story, you didn’t have to stay dead for those 40,000 souls to pass over, Akemi just wanted you all to herself."

Xena's eyes widened in horror. "Oh Gabrielle," she gasped brokenly. "What have I done?"

"Hey it’s not all bad, you still got me." Area, deluded as ever, was positive this was his chance to get Xena back. But Xena had stopped listening, her mind was full of remorse. She sank to the ground, burying her head in her hands and let the tears flow.

Gabrielle had watched as Ares appeared, she'd walked off a few paces and tried to summon Aphrodite again. This time she was successful and the Goddess of Love appeared in a shower of pink sparkles. 

“Hey, Gabrielle, how’s tricks?” Aphrodite was happy to see her favourite mortal.

“Oh, Aphrodite.” Gabrielle wailed and threw herself into the Goddess’ arms.

Ares looked from his sister and the annoying, blonde bard to the still weeping Xena, he threw up his hands in disgust, he was drowning in oestrogen, “Oh great, crying women.” He could practically feel himself starting to lactate so he dematerialised, vowing to stay away until the hormone levels dropped.

Aphrodite let Gabrielle sob for a few moments then she pushed her away gently. "I heard about the Warrior babe." She pulled a delicate square of pink silk from nowhere and offered it to Gabrielle, who took it and blew her nose loudly. "Don't you fret sweet thing, your aunty Dite can make it all better."

Gabrielle looked hopeful and knuckled her tears away.

The sound of her beloved crying had brought Xena back to her feet, she wanted to comfort Gabrielle, especially as she was the one who caused the tears. Xena cautiously moved closer, not sure of her reception.

"Hey there Xena." The Goddess said coolly.

"Aphrodite." Xena muttered, she attempted to stand next to Gabrielle but the bard moved to put some distance between them, Xena sadly watched her go.

Aphrodite looked on unhappily. These two held a special place in her heart, she'd watched over them from their birth and had even engineered their first meeting. Recent events had upset her greatly but all was not lost. "So Bardolcious, you want the Warrior babe back?"

Gabrielle nodded. Xena opened her mouth to speak but fell silent at Aphrodite's glare. The Goddess clicked her fingers and held out her palm, a small blob of luminous orange appeared. "Luckily, we've got some ambrosia left."

Xena frowned. "I thought that was destroyed in the lava pit along with Velasca." 

"Oh we've always got some put by on Olympus for emergencies," Aphrodite said breezily. "But this batch of ambrosia is like super strength it won’t just bring you back, you’ll be immortal." She waved the magic goo proudly, as if expecting applause for saving the day but Xena burst her bubble of happiness.

"No! I won't come back like that, not without Gabrielle." 

Gabrielle met Xena's eyes for the first time since shouting at her. "After what you've done, you don't get a vote in this." She stated calmly.

"No, love. I’m not going to watch you die then spend the greater part of eternity mourning." Xena moved closer and rested her hands on Gabrielle's shoulders. 

"So again, it's all about what YOU want!" Xena's high-handed attitude was stirring the banked embers of Gabrielle's rage. 

Xena flinched from Gabrielle's furious look that was a permanent fixture today and swallowed drily. "But how can I eat the ambrosia if I can’t touch it?" She passed her hand through the orange jelly to demonstrate her point.

"Fear not, warrior babe." Aphrodite screwed up her face in concentration. As the others watched the ambrosia split in two. One part faded, becoming as insubstantial as Xena the other remained solid.

Xena, stubborn as ever said. “Anyway, I’m not coming back to be miserable for thousands of years." 

Without looking Aphrodite held up her hand and met Gabrielle's chest as the bard marched forward to yell at Xena again. "Cool it, sweetcheeks." She sighed, why did mortals need this much persuading? She was only giving them what they both really wanted. At times like this she felt more like a kindergarten teacher than the Goddess of Love. "No need to squabble children, today’s your lucky day, I can offer you a two for one deal."

Xena looked up sharply and peered into her eyes intently and trying to keep a lid on a sudden burst of hope. "Are you saying, you’ll make us both live forever?"

"Yep. On one condition."

Xena and Gabrielle spoke in unison. "Go on." 

"Well you two are kinda my poster gals, so you hafta be seen visiting my temples and spreading the good word."

Xena was about to complain but Gabrielle said “Done!” in a voice that brooked no argument.

Aphrodite looked questioningly at Xena who nodded curtly, she offered her hand to Xena, who took the opaque blob reluctantly. Aphrodite handed the second piece to Gabrielle. Both women popped the ambrosia into their mouths and chewed. Neither knew what to expect and Xena was mildly disappointed that nothing appeared to happen, but Gabrielle blinked a few times as Xena seemed to solidify before her eyes. She embraced Aphrodite tightly and whispered a heartfelt "thank you" in her ear.

"You're welcome, honey." Aphrodite looked from one to the other, Xena was looking sheepishly apologetic and Gabrielle's face was as black as thunder. She decided to beat a tactful retreat, the sight of blood always did make her queasy. "Laters, sweetlings," she blew them both a kiss and disappeared in her trademark pink, sparkly shower. 

Gabrielle rushed over to Xena, she stopped in front of the warrior princess and shot out a hand. Xena stood firm and closed her eyes, bracing herself. She was fully expecting a blow to the face and made no move to evade it, feeling a split lip was the least she deserved. Nothing happened so after a few seconds one vivid, blue eye opened. Gabrielle still had her hand out, palm upwards and was wiggling her fingers. “Give me your sword.”

“Huh?” 

“Sword. Gimme. Now!”

Wordlessly Xena handed it over to her soulmate. Gabrielle snatched it and spun around. She stomped over to the nearest chest-high post by the edge of the dock and began attacking it with the blade, accompanied by shrieks and yells. Within 10 minutes it had been reduced to matchstick sized splinters. She went back to Xena, casually lobbed the sword in her direction and stamped off, muttering darkly. Her stance was rigid with fury at first but with each step she seemed to shrink a little until she collapsed to the ground, shoulders shaking as the tears ran down her face. Xena was by her side immediately, she sank beside Gabrielle and pulled the sobbing bard onto her lap. "I’m so sorry, sweetheart. So sorry." Xena whispered the words over and over, rocking them both as her own tears were absorbed by Gabrielle’s hair. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the present, Gabrielle finished her tale in a voice thick with tears. Her audience wiped their leaking eyes - surreptitiously in Jane's case.

Xena kissed her soulmate on the cheek, she cleared the emotion from her throat. "And then we came here," Xena gestured at the walls of her house. "I needed time to show Gabrielle how sorry I was for taking her for granted for so many years." She darted a meaningful glance at Jane whose eyes widened in sudden understanding. When Xena had been so attentive to Maura at the restaurant a few nights ago, she had just been trying to stop Jane from falling into the same trap as Xena. Jane had realised it at the time but the lesson now had greater impact. Jane nodded her thanks to Xena and cuddled Maura a little closer rubbing her cheek over the silky, soft hair. 

"We spent a couple of decades..." Xena groped for a euphemism, "reconnecting, then we got back on the road." 

Gabrielle stood and hauled Xena to her feet. "And if you'll excuse us, we need to do some more reconnecting right now." 

Xena grinned and slipped her arm around Gabrielle's shoulders. "Her libido is one of the many, many things I love about this woman. See you in the morning."

The two immortal women hurried out to a chorus of "night."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Early next morning, Jane awoke to the sound of birds chirping. She rolled over and her hand groped for her bedmate but only found cool sheets. Bleary eyed, she squinted to focus on the room. Maura was standing by the window looking out with rapt attention. Jane climbed out to see what had her girlfriend so engrossed. Outside on the grass at the back of the house two figures were drilling. Xena was thrusting and parrying with a sword while Gabrielle was working with a staff, twirling it and making low attacking sweeps. Their movements were controlled and precise, they must have been at it for some time as their skin was glinting with sweat in the early sunlight.

Jane’s arms encircled Maura’s waist from behind and she rested her chin on Maura’s shoulder, neither spoke but Maura acknowledged Jane's presence by squeezing a forearm that rested on her stomach. The spectacle on the lawn below was mesmerising and when the two women had finished their individual routines and began to spar with each other Maura gasped, certain that her medical training would soon be needed. The sword and staff blurred as the combatants fought, each attack was blocked expertly then countered with amazing dexterity. 

Jane watched the display with a dropped jaw, the synergy was awe inspiring. The two women were evenly matched and, although it was obvious they were trying hard to best each other, neither was succeeding in breaking through her opponent's defence - until Xena cheated. From a standing start she somersaulted over Gabrielle's head, dropping her sword en route, then she began dancing her fingers over Gabrielle's ribs. Giggling, the bard let go of her staff and tried to wriggle away from the tormenting digits but Xena dragged them both to the cool grass and straddled her soulmate.

Jane had a pretty good idea what was going to happen next and pulled Maura away from the window, ignoring the small squeak of protest. "Wanna go get dirty in the shower?" She murmured in Maura's ear.

Maura shivered as the hot breath washed over her skin. "H... how can you get dirty in a shower?" She asked with what Jane thought of as an adorable little frown.

Jane waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "'S'easy," she said with a laugh in her voice as she led her girlfriend to the bathroom. "All you need is an active imagination, a willing partner and a good sense of balance, fortunately for you, I have all three. C'mon let's go have some good, dirty, steamy fun and then make a large breakfast. Gotta a hunch all four of us are gonna need the calories." 

 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dissatisfaction with cannon is the main reason I write fics, so if you didn't enjoy the story blame TPTB who came up with the stupid idea of killing Xena. Thankfully in the Xenaverse, no one has to stay dead and with a little thought we can have a happy ending.
> 
> Thanks for taking time to read.
> 
> Kim.xxx

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed it please hit the Kudos button.
> 
> Kim.xxx


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